The Senate voted 29-15 for the bill by Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, over the objections of some members who say the plan is unconstitutional and would be detrimental to Oklahoma's economy.

"I believe the language has constitutional problems," said Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, who tried to remove several sections of the bill he said were problematic. "This puts a burden on legal citizens to carry citizenship papers at all times."

The Senate approved a separate bill on Wednesday that denies in-state tuition to illegal immigrants who attended high school in Oklahoma.

"There's nothing wrong with coming here legally. We welcome you," said Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, who wrote the tuition bill. "This is about the people who cut to the front of the line and do it illegally."

Illegal immigrants were banned from receiving in-state tuition at state colleges in a tough anti-illegal immigration bill approved several years ago, but an exemption was granted for students seeking citizenship who already were planning to attend college. Sykes' bill eliminates those exemptions.

Shortey's measure authorizes law enforcement officers to arrest someone without a warrant if the officer has "probable cause" to believe the person is subject to a removal order by an immigration court, has been charged with a crime, or has failed to register with the federal government. It also allows police to seize property, like homes or vehicles, used to knowingly harbor or transport illegal immigrants.

"This is going to remove an incentive for an illegal immigrant to come to Oklahoma in the first place," said Shortey, who represents a heavily Hispanic district in south Oklahoma City. "They're going to say: 'Oklahoma doesn't like us. They don't want us there. So we just won't go.'

"If they're faced with the possibility of being detained at any moment in Oklahoma, then they'll go someplace else."

Another provision of Shortey's bill requires employers who receive any economic incentive from the state to use a federal program called e-verify to confirm the immigration status of their workers.

Sen. Charles Wyrick, who represents a rural district in northeast Oklahoma, said he's concerned farmers could risk losing their property and expensive equipment by hiring migrant workers, even if the workers were later determined to be legal.

"(A farmer's) entire operation could be shut down until forfeiture is declared or a release is ordered," said Wyrick, D-Fairland. "Do you have any idea how much crop would be lost if an entire harvesting operation were shut down for 30 days?"

Patricia Fennell, president and CEO of the Latino Community Development Agency, accused politicians like Shortey of pandering to voters and using controversial issues like immigration to boost their support.

"They're using these bills to build political careers," Fennell said. "These people will eventually self-destruct, but they leave a path of destruction in people's lives in the meantime."

Although Shortey's bill is expected to be heavily amended during the conference committee process, Fennell said it's irresponsible for Republican leaders in the Senate to allow the bill to come to the floor for a vote.

"I think it's incredibly irresponsible when your state is in serious economic crisis, and you pass bills that you know are not good for this state and are going to be legally challenged and result in economic costs," Fennell said.

David Castillo with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said the bill will make it tough on everyone.

"These are ridiculous bills. These bills are going to cost the state of Oklahoma millions and millions of dollars. Bills like this are going to affect not only the Hispanic community businesses, but non Hispanic as well," Castillo said.